


Relatively Dangerous

by RichSkitzCale



Series: The Cale Storyline Redux [3]
Category: Generation X (Comic)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-19
Updated: 2019-03-17
Packaged: 2019-06-29 12:03:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 22,792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15729036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RichSkitzCale/pseuds/RichSkitzCale
Summary: In the third story of the Cale Storyline, Emplate has recruited a new mutant to help threaten the school, one known to the newest student.  Unfortunately, this attack is going to coincide with the arrival of a new student.  Can Generation X safely get their new teammate, and prevent Emplate form having his plan succeed?





	1. Trust

**Author's Note:**

> Attention: Generation X and their villains, as well as any other mutant mentioned in this story, is property of Marvel Comics. The character Richard Cale is named after family relations. Any other reference to anything copyrighted is a chance happening.

 

    It had started out a quiet day at the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters, which should have been the first sign that something bad was coming. Richard Cale was now wishing that more of the students had stayed behind. His mind was racing, and he couldn’t recall who had stayed behind with him and Yvette. That person wasn’t in good shape right now. They might even be dead for all he knew.  
    It seemed that once the others had left, someone had attacked. All he knew was that it wasn’t Emplate. He actually thought that was the kindest blessing, given how much the mutant vampire wanted both him and Yvette. Yvette had been the fiend’s prisoner and food source for a long time, and Richard knew she didn’t want that again.  
    He turned a corner with her now, and while the hallway appeared empty, he hit a wall. He had hit it so hard, he thought he heard bones crack. He staggered back, and noticed that Yvette was doing the same. The distraction was all their pursuer needed, however, and he felt something surround him, and start to crush him. He heard Yvette let out a scream of pain, and he was about to join her in it when he heard the voice of his attacker. It was a female voice that spoke, and it was malicious, as well as familar as it said “Your life is over.”  
    The words caused a rush of adrenaline to go through him, and it was just enough. Everything disappeared from sight, and he blinked, opening his eyes, and waking from the nightmare. He quickly sat up as his heart raced, gasping for breath out of instinct. It had only been a nightmare, but it felt too real.  
    That was the thing he hated most about nightmares like that. When they felt that real, they were more than nightmares, they were warnings. Even his uncle on his mother's side told him he already had a latent talent for predictions. He hated to think what this one meant.  
    Richard glanced over at his clock and groaned. It was three in the morning, which wasn't a good sign. The last nightmare woke him later than this, and he has gone to sleep at a similar time. He didn't want to think about what it would mean, at least not yet. He knew he would have to talk to someone about it, though.  
    He got out of bed, and went to his closet to get dressed. He wasn't going to get back to sleep. He did think, however, that a walk might help him think of how to tell someone about this, especially when they woke up. Once he was dressed, he put on his jacket, and headed out the door.

*******************************************

    Elane Bonstein looked down at the letter she had received a few weeks ago. The letter offered her a chance at revenge against someone she had a strong hatred for. Someone who had ruined her plans for taking over the family she had been adopted into. The only thing that had stopped her so far had been that the person in question had a knack for laying low, or when he did draw attention to himself, it resulted in higher levels of security around him.  
    She quietly left the plane she had taken to Logan Airport, contemplating what this letter was offering. Someone who had crossed paths with her foe had found out about her. This amazed her as she kept a low profile as well, using her own powers to keep out of sight. Even now, she used them when she caught sight of airport security. She had no doubt that every law enforcement agency would be watching for her. She had had a few close calls, narrowly ducking out of sight before using her ability to cloak herself. When she did that, she would purloin something of her pursuers.  
    While these thought crossed her mind, she noticed a sign that had her name on it. It would have been easy for anyone to miss, since the person holding it appeared to be only half her size. As she approached him, the little man just said, “Ms. Elane?”  
    Inwardly, she winced, but since he didn’t say her full name, that might be alright. She didn’t respond until she was close enough, since she didn’t want the wrong people hearing her. When she was upon him, she nodded and said, “Yes, I’m her. Are you the one who sent me the letter, or do you work for the person who sent it?” She made sure she studied the little man who was holding the sign. He was a slightly unnerving sight to decent people, keeping a toothy grin plastered on his face, and having a card with the letters DOA on it in his chauffer’s hat. There was only one thing she knew those letters stood for.  
    The man shook his head, the grin never leaving his face, and he lowered the sign. “No, ma’am. The master sent you that note, and he is most eager to meet you. He feels he can offer you the one thing you desire most.” She had recalled the letter mentioning that she could get revenge on the one who ruined her plans in the first place. Of course, she wondered how her benefactor here had found that out.  
    Before she could ask another question, the little man turned, and started to head out of the terminal. She followed, making sure not to make eye contact with anyone else there. She had no doubt something about the little man put them on edge. No doubt it was the card on his hat, but there was something more. Before she could ask, however, he responded to any question she would ask. “I’ve been instructed to bring you back to the master’s place. For obvious reasons, I can’t say much else at the moment.”  
    Elane remained silent, and got into the vehicle that he apparently drove; a slightly beat up limo. While the vehicle was roomy, it gave off an air of evil. It actually made her feel more comfortable about her trip here. She then sat back, enjoying the supposed style the limo was supposed to give.  
    Eventually, the vehicle went past a place marked by a single sign, but the name on it had become synonymous with mutants, and trying to achieve a peaceful coexistance with human. It was the sign for the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters. She stared at the place as the limo went past it, catching a glimpse of the school’s austere buildings. She was still looking at it when she said to the driver, “Is that where he is?”  
    As the place started to become swallowed up by the distance, the driver responded to her question. “Yes, that is the place. I’ll probably be bringing you back here after the master explains his plan to you. Should be easy, given what the boss knows about your powers.” That statement surprised her a little. She didn’t even know who this master was, yet he knew a deal about her.  
    Eventually, the limo stopped, and from what she could tell, they were outside an old lighthouse. The little man got out of the car, and then escorted her inside the building. Inside, the building gave Elane the feel that it wasn’t just a lighthouse, and as they climbed to the top, she noticed what looked like a cell halfway up. A brief glance inside the door showed her that the walls of that cell had claw like gouges in them.  
    As she reached the top, she already concluded that whomever was in charge here was evil. Every thing she had seen so far hammered that fact home, and she loved it. She passed a few more rooms, and something told her they were rooms for henchmen. At the top of the lighthouse, she saw her escort enter a room. She had a feeling it was the place her new boss would call home. She refrained from listening at the door. If she truly wanted to find out what was going on, she had her own ways of sneaking about.  
    Eventually, the little man came back out of the door, and beckoned her over. “The master is ready to see you. He’s certain you’ll like his offer.” She nodded, and entered the room. For just a moment, she was startled by the person she saw. Sitting in a high back chair was a man who was scarred. His dark skin was discolored by multiple scars, and his dark hair was in dreadlocks. Of his face, all she could see was his eyes, and they were dark and evil, but also still that of a human or mutant. The rest of the face was covered by what looked like a respirator, one that appear attached to the outfit he wore. During that moment, she also locked eyes with him, if only for an instant, and she liked what she saw.

    Emplate knew full well what he was doing. After that confrontation at the school months ago, he started looking into the new mutant that had outwitted him. This is what led him to finding the woman now before him. From what he could tell, and what knowledge he could access from his one power of knowledge on sight, she was an adopted cousin of his latest adversary, and one who tried to manipulate Richard Cale’s family for her own gain.  
    Physically, the girl was very appealing to the eye, or at least to his eye. She was blonde, and blessed with a very appealing figure. He knew she was at least three years younger than Richard Cale, which had to put her at eighteen. He could also tell she had a good deal of power in her mutant power, aura manipulation, and she had a good grasp of what her power could do.  
    His appraisal done, he looked at Elane and said, “Welcome to my home, Ms. Bonstein. I take it you had an enjoyable and safe trip here.” In all honesty, he had hoped her trip here had not caused anyone to take notice of her. The last thing he needed was for Generation X, especially Richard and Yvette, to know about her presence in the area.  
    He could tell she had been studying him as well, no doubt a bit suspicious about him, but he could sense something more. She then appeared to recover herself and crossed her arms, an action Emplate couldn‘t tell if it was defensive, or calculated. Her words, however, were straight to the point. “And who are you, claiming to be able to offer me the chance at revenge on the one who ruined my plans years ago?”  
    Emplate had to respect her for getting straight to the point. He stood up, noticing as he did that the girl appeared to be almost the same height as he was. “I am Emplate. A few months ago, I had crossed paths with the object of your fury. At that time, I knew he was capable of great powers with his ability, but knew not what it was. I tried to ambush him at Logan Airport, but he somehow had known I was there.” He started to step towards her as he spoke. “Later, I attacked the school, and he used my own abilities against me. He‘s some sort of mutant mimic, one that can copy personalities and thoughts.” He stopped, and pointed at Elane. “That‘s how he thwarted your plans. It is also how I can give you the means to ruin his life.”  
    He noticed that she didn‘t step back, but just kept her apparent defensive stance. “How do you know he ruined my plans back then? I never mentioned any plans.” He inwardly smiled as she reacted in the typical way that anyone reacted when revealed stuff they thought no one knew. Ironically, he thought the look of shock on her face looked good on her.  
    He made a motion of pointing to himself. “Part of my unique abilities have earned me knowledge on sight. I know of your hatred for your former cousin. I know of the plan you had for his family, and how they were ruined. In fact, I would not doubt that you aren’t the only one whose plans he has ruined because of his abilities.” He honestly had a good feeling that there were more out there, but they might not be so easily satiated with him just enthralling Richard Cale.  
    He watched Elane as she straightened up. He didn‘t even notice if she had cringed or not as he got closer to her. Her voice also kept a defiant tone in it. “And this helps me ruin his life how?”  
    Emplate smiled, even though she couldn’t see it. He then put a bit of delight into his voice as he told her something he knew she’d bite at. “Do you know that Richard Cale fears me the most? He fears that I will use his abilities to turn him into what I am. He also fears for a girl that he has fallen in love with. She had been a prisoner of mine, and he managed to break her free of my grip.” He then locked eyes with her as he delivered his last word. “Your vengeance would be to bring him and her back here to me. You can even watch him suffer.”  
    He saw a smile cross Elane Bonstein’s face. In that smile, Emplate could see both joy at the prospect of watching that suffering, and something else. He wasn’t sure if it was defiance or not when she asked, “And what if I fail? What are the consequences if I fail in capturing my former cousin, and his girl?” Something about the tone also hinted that she had some sort of ace up her sleeve.  
    To respond to her question, Emplate held up his hands, displaying the maws that graced the palms of his hands. To his surprise, she didn’t appear to flinch as he said, “Then I’m going to have to sup on you.” This girl was definately not afraid of him, or what he could do. A part of him admired her for that.  
    He was startled as she stepped towards him. It was done in a very seductive way, and he let his eyes study her in a new way. As he did, he heard her say, with a purr in her voice, “Then you’ll lose a chance at a woman who can offer you love, and even allow you a chance to breathe without that apparatus on your head.” He felt his eyes go wide, as well as a pressure on his shoulders, like someone put a helmet on his head. She even got closer as she said, “Remove that thing, so I can see your face, and even kiss you.”  
    He started to reach up to remove his respirator, and he heard D.O.A. shout, “Sir. It could be a trick. If you do that, it will…” He held up his hand to pause his manservant’s protests. He understood the concerns, but he could read it in her aura. She had developed feelings for him in just the short time he was speaking with her.  
    He started to smile when he breathed the air. This girl’s power gave him something he didn’t think possible. He smiled at her, and said as she brought her face closer to his, “I believe you have proven yourself worthy of not being my meal.”  
    As her lips neared his, she said in a very seductive tone, “I can do this for you any time. Consider this part of the thanks for allow me a chance to get revenge on Richard Cale.” She then kissed him on the lips, and Emplate knew there was love in that kiss. He was lost in that kiss as she backed away and said, “Now I think you better get that thing back on. I need to stop this so I can get ready to capture them.”  
    He replaced the respirator, and felt the aura helmet leave his shoulders. He then realized he had found the perfect partner for his plans. A woman as evil as he was. They would be an unstoppable team, or at least he hoped so. He then said, “Together, we will be able to destroy Generation X. Now, I want you to get ready. I have information that says that today will be the best time to strike. They will be getting a new student, and I am certain that we can set up an ambush. If luck goes our way, you might be able to abduct them when they are there alone.”  
    She laughed when he said that, and viciousness was in that laugh. “That would be perfect. Richard will never know what hit him.” Indeed, they wouldn’t know what hit them. He would just need a bit of information from that special source he had regarding Generation X. Given some information he had gotten in the past, he was certain there would be a chance to capture his prey by themselves in the next few hours.  
    He turned to D.O.A., and saw the shock on his manservant’s face. “D.O.A, prepare Ms. Bonstein some quarters. We have a new member to welcome to our group.” He watched as his manservant nodded, and escorted Elane out of the room. He then returned to his chair, certain that he would have his quarry back in his clutches soon.

**************************************************

    Emma Frost had been having a very nice dream. She had been dreaming that the Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters had been flourishing, and that all her charges there were alive and well. That dream, however, came to an end when she heard a crash outside, like someone had tripped over something outside her lodgings on the grounds.  
    This wasn’t the first time Emma had been roused from a nice dream, so she was better prepared this time. She got out of bed, and quickly grabbed a robe to put around herself. While she didn’t anticipate someone coming in tonight, she didn’t want to cause any incidents, or invite any unwanted thoughts. She then opened her bedroom window, and looked out.  
    While it was still dark outside, she could see enough to tell a male figure was outside the building, and clambering out of the shrubs around the building, brushing himself off. She listened for a moment, and finally heard a voice she recognized. “Not good. This is definitely not going to be a good day. I walked into the shrubs around this building, and if I recall right, this is…” It was at that point the figure looked up towards her.  
    She recognized him in an instant. It was the school’s newest student, Richard Cale. He was to lose that title in a few hours, but that wasn’t important to her right now. Emma knew Richard wasn’t usually awake this early. The only times he was up this early had been due to nightmares; prophetic nightmares. She tried to remain calm, though, since Richard’s presence around her home was, she was certain, an innocent fluke of luck. She did, however, try to lighten the situation with a little humor. “I am hoping that the appearance of you outside my home at this hour is due to a dare to try and peak in on me sleeping, Richard, and not the fact that you awoke early from a nightmare.” She let only a slight smile cross her lips, hoping it didn’t look creepy.  
    Her attempt at humor didn’t go unnoticed, and she could have sworn that he started to blush. “I guess it does look that bad, but I was not trying to spy on you. Unfortunately, I did have another nightmare.” That did worry her, since the last nightmare he had predicted Emplate’s last attack. With a new student about to arrive, they didn’t need another attack happening.  
    She took on a serious tone, and said, “Richard, would you like to come in and talk about it, or even allow me to enter the dream and try to figure out what we might be in for?” Last time she had tried that, she had done so against his wishes. She was not about to make that mistake twice.  
    She watched as he appeared to think about it, and then to her surprise, he nodded and responded, "I think that might be a good idea. You might be able to see something I couldn't in it." That little decision told her how serious Richard thought the situation was.  
    Emma nodded, and said, "I will be down in a few moments. Wait for me at the door." She closed the window, and quickly got dressed. She made sure to dress in her business casual attire, which included white dress pants, and a white sweater, since it would be the best for today. She then got down to the door and opened it. She stepped back as Richard entered, giving him the benefit of distance to keep his power from locking in on her.  
    She closed the door, and motioned to a couch in the sitting room. He nodded, heading over to it, but to her surprise, he didn't sit on it, but recline on it. This action told her a lot, but she felt she should ask before assuming what the action ment. "Would you like me to try and see this dream? It might be difficult depending how long ago you woke up."  
    She watched as he nodded, and then noticed that he was trying to relax himself. "While I am not keen on it, I have a feeling it might be the only way to get an answer. I couldn't get an idea who the attacker in the dream was, but if this nightmare is a premonition, the attack that is coming is going to be that person.”  
    Emma nodded, and mentally prepared herself. She didn’t want this time to be like the last time, where she forced her way in. She had done it in the equivalent of a brute force attack. This time, he was letting her into his mind, so she didn’t want him to think all psychic probes were done in such a crude way. She probed his mind in the most gentle way possible, and was rewarded with an almost instant arrival at where all his dreams were.  
    If she were still a force of evil, Emma knew she would have had a field day trying to enter every dream, and finds its meaning. That, thankfully, was the old her. She quickly located what had to be the freshest dream, and entered it with ease. From the outside, she had seen Richard and Yvette suspended in the air. Stepping into the dream allowed her to see that clearly, as well as the person attacking them.  
    She knew better than to mess with the dream, since changing any detail about a dream could mess with a person’s mind. Besides, it wasn’t like Sean’s dreams overwhelming her own. This dream had happened, and was a memory. Most dreams were memories, and in some cases, memories yet to happen. She just had to figure out who this person was, and all she could see was that it was a blonde woman. She might be psychic herself, since Emma saw no means for the woman to be holding Richard and Yvette suspended in the air.  
    As she watched, Emma remained as quiet as possible. She could feel the anger the figure had for Richard, and by extension, Yvette. Feeling that malice, Emma asked herself, _“Who are you?”_ It was a question she wasn’t expecting a response to, and didn’t realized that it might have been heard, until the figure spun around to face her.  
    To her shock, she felt a forced hit her as the figure just said, _“I’m relatively dangerous to all of you, bitch.”_ She wasn’t sure what caused the force, but she was sure it came from the figure. If it had not been Richard’s dream, she would have been shoved through a wall. As it was, she was only knocked out of the confines of the dream. She did, however, let the force propel her out of Richard’s mind. The whole incident troubled her. First off, she wasn’t sure if Richard had done that, or if the figure had its own free will. She was inclined to think it was Richard’s mind, thinking she might have stumbled on something he intended to keep secret. It wouldn’t be the first time a student of hers tried to keep secrets from her.  
    She blinked, and noticed now that Richard was looking at her, a look of concern in his eyes. He was getting up from the couch, saying, “Miss Frost, are you alright? You looked like you were just struck.” She had a feeling she might have shown physical signs of having been attacked, most likely in an action that mimicked being pushed back into the wall.  
    She nodded, and held up her hand to halt his movements. “I‘ll be fine, Richard. I am, however, going to contact Sean about this. While I do that, I want to know if you have an idea about who this attacker is? For some reason, she responded to a question I asked of myself quietly in there. She had said she was relatively dangerous to us, and I think there is a clue in that statement. Is there any family members that could be a threat?” She could tell that he was at a loss for words now. It was quite possible that they might have another troublesome family member on their hands. Inwardly, Emma groaned, and started to wonder if any mutant could have a decent relationship with their family.

    Sean Cassidy did not like being awoken by Emma, especially since the time she had invaded his dreams. He did realize then that it was because they were residing in the same building at that time, but since then, he didn't care for her mental communications at night. The fact that she mentioned Richard having a nightmare didn't make it any better.  
    Last time Richard had had a nightmare, Emplate had decided to attack a day later. It would be a disaster if he attacked today, with a new student arriving. It wouldn't be the first time, since the fiend did it when Jonothan had arrived, and tried to do it when Richard came to the school. It would be no surprise to him if the fiend tried something with this new mutant, a girl named Daria who was about Jubilee's age.  
    He made his way to Emma's cottage, desperately hoping that he wasn't jumping to a horrible conclusion. He saw Emma standing by the open door, waiting for him. As he neared, he asked the question foremost in his mind. "Is his nightmare a sign that Emplate going to attack?"  
    Her response was not good, at least in his mind. She shrugged. "I can't say. The attacker in Richard's dream was female." Hearing that, Sean wasn't happy. For all he knew, it was possible that the very person they were picking up was to be the threat. Then she said something even more troubling. "Judging by something in the dream, she is someone he already knows."  
    As he entered the building, Sean took that information in. Obviously, it wasn’t the incoming new student. Daria, who was joining the school as part of Richard’s uncle’s last decent act, was unknown to all of them. The only things they knew about her was that she had somehow been pulled into the secret program known as Zero Tolerance, and that she was a mutant. He still wondered how that detail had slipped by, but then again, some mutants had an uncanny gift for remaining undetected.  
    He stopped inside the door, and quietly asked, “Is there anything else ye can tell me? Did his dream say who all would be targeted? Where the attack was going to happen?” The plan had been for the whole school to go to the airport to fetch her, minus the young ones. They had been shuttled off to someplace where Franklin’s family were for an overnight trip, as a precaution.  
    Emma nodded, and started to walk to the room he figured Richard was in. “Yes. The dream, from what I saw of it, hinted that he and Yvette would be attacked at the school. Of course, it could be a metaphor, but given how detailed that part of the scene was, and his history with dreams like this, it could be accurate.” Sean took that bit of information and started running it through his head. If that was the case, they just had to be sure not to leave the two at the school alone.  
    Before they entered the room, he said to Emma, “Well, then our best course of action would be to make sure we all stay together today.” He then recalled one detail, and he paused. Richard’s last dream happened two nights before Emplate attacked. “And tomorrow. Unless we can get an idea on how soon this premonition might come true.”  
    Emma paused, and he could tell that was a detail she hadn’t considered. She placed her hand to her head, and shook her head. “Damn. I hadn’t even thought about it. I asked Richard to try and think about who it might be. I have a feeling it is a family member he wronged, or a woman he knew.” He had to admit that that was a good question as well.  
    They entered the room, and Sean noticed that Richard was positioning himself in a reclining position, in the act of placing his feet on the couch. It was an action he was familiar with, when a part of him was trying to unconsciously rest due to lack of sleep. No doubt the lad wasn’t used to this early morning wake up call. When he spotted them, he returned to a sitting position in a hurry. “Sorry, Miss Frost, Mr. Cassidy. Is there more questions?”  
    Sean raised his hand in an understanding way, noting that Richard, who like most of the other students at the school, normally addressed him informally, had formally addressed him. It had to be a sign of how little sleep he had. “A few lad. Emma told me about the dream, and I was wondering if ye had any clue on who the attacker might be? Are there any ladies ye might have wronged? Anyone who knew you were here?”  
    He saw the lad shake his head. “No sir. When I told my parents I was planning to come here, I told them not to tell anyone. If anyone wanted to reach me, they had to go through them first. All of my family still think I’m back at the school I was at in Pennsylvania.” Sean took that information in, and processed it. None of Richard’s family knew he was here. That was a plus if the attacker was family. By extension, that would also mean that anyone he knew at that school might not know he was here. Still, something bothered him about that. Richard had been out of the loop when it came to his uncle, and they were all in the dark about Emplate’s relationship to Monet until that fact became known.  
    He decided not to press that issue. If Richard was right about that, it meant that this unknown attacker would be getting their information from somewhere else. That wasn’t a pleasant thought, since the only sources at the current time could be Emplate, or even a rogue operative linked to Zero Tolerance. Now they needed an idea on time frame. “Richard, I was just wondering how long ye’ve been awake?”  
    He saw Richard blink, and then look at a clock. “I woke at about three o’clock. I got dressed, and started walking the school grounds. Eventually I walked into the buiding, or something, here which woke Emma.” Sean looked over at the clock as well, and saw the time on it. It was five thirty in the morning.  
    Emma noticed it as well, and he heard her exclaim, “You’ve been awake for two and a half hours. Richard, how much sleep did you get? And when was the earliest you had awoken from one of these nightmares? There may be a link to how soon they might come true.” It had been what he was thinking.  
    He didn’t like the frown that crossed Richard’s face as he thought about that. He had a feeling the lad had never thought about it before. “This was the earliest I can recall. The one I had involving Emplate back when I first came here was a four in the morning. I also had more sleep that night.” He gave them a sheepish grin as he said, “Sometimes I can be a night owl.”  
    That didn’t set well with Sean. He knew a few people who needed very little sleep. Hell, he had seen Wolverine be wide awake and alert only after a half hour of sleep. The man might be the king of power napping. He set his eyes on Richard, and said, “Richard, when did ye fall asleep last night?”  
    He saw Richard look down at his feet. “I couldn’t fall asleep for some reason, and got to reading one of the Pratchett books I have. I finally fell asleep at two.” Sean groaned. That meant that Richard had only gotten an hour sleep. If that was a factor, it meant that the attack would be coming in the next few hours.  
    He then thought and how inseparable Richard and Yvette could be when they were together. If it hadn‘t been for the fact that Yvette had been at the school before Richard had even arrived, he might have sworn they had arrived at the same time, given the impact he had made on her. If they were the target in that dream, the two couldn‘t be left alone in the next two days. He finally voiced his concern for the next coming hours. “Lad, I hope there isn‘t a connection between how much sleep you‘ve had, and when the premonition comes true. If that is the case, then the events are supposed to occur when we have to fetch Daria from the airport.”  
    The words had an effect on Richard. His eyes had gone wide, as if the fact that Daria was arriving today had escaped his mind completely. “Oh my gosh, that‘s right. Today is the day she‘s arriving. Which means it is going to happen when everyone is gone. That means we just have to all go to the airport. It‘s the only way to avoid it all.” That would have been sound reasoning if not for the fact that the last word, to Sean‘s dismay, was punctuated by a yawn. He started to wonder if Richard‘s idea would be stymied by his own tiredness when the time came to leave for Logan Airport. For a moment, Sean recalled that in many stories, it always seemed folly to try and control prophecies. It always seem to lead to disaster.

*******************************************

 


	2. Family Secrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the school prepares for its new student, the team's newest member begins to realize who might be coming to attack them, and it's linked to a member of his own family, and has to now tell them about it. Can he do so before giving in to a lack of sleep?

    Yvette had woken up bright and early. She had to since she was helping prepare a room for the new student. She was also a light sleeper, something that came about after being a captive of Emplate for so long. She checked the clock she had been given, and saw it was a little after five. Odds were no one was up yet, since very few of her classmates would get up this early.  
    She quickly got out of bed, and put on one of the casual outfits that Miss Frost had gotten for her. Most of her clothing were in shades of blue, or had something blue on them. There were also articles of clothing that had apples on them. Miss Frost had her pick out various items so she didn’t have to rely on borrowed clothing, which was a blessing. All the tops her fellow classmates had were a bit tight on her.  
    Once she was dressed, and brushed her hair, she left her dorm room, and headed to the main building. Since there were so few students at the school, the kitchen and pantry were pretty much open to the students. They just had to remember to clean up after themselves. Since Richard’s arrival, she had started getting her own food without causing a massive mess. This morning, she was going to have a simple breakfast. It would be a bowl of Apple Jacks, which she loved, and a glass of apple juice. It had become her normal breakfast since she started being a normal teenager.  
    When she arrived at the kitchen, she was a little surprised to see someone there. It was Mr. Cassidy. She was so shocked that she almost forgot that he did like to remain informal with the students. She momentarily stood in the doorway, not even fully entering the room as he turned to look in her direction. Once he had, she just smiled and said, “Sean, I’m surprised to see you here.” Inwardly, she still felt a little odd using his name like that. He tended to reminder her of a father figure.  
    She noticed he had a worried look on his face, and could hear it in his voice when he responded. “I can tell yur surprised, lass. However, Yvette, I’m not the only one awake at this hour.” She saw him point over to where the table was. She entered the room, and looked in that direction, and saw Miss Frost standing next to the counter looking at the table. She was making a cup of coffee as well. She then saw Richard sitting at the table, and he looked like he hadn’t slept well at all.  
    She walked over to the table, and saw him look at her. Even though she could see how drained he looked, she could see his eyes light up when he saw her. He even managed a smile for her. “Hi, love.” Then, she saw him lower his head, as if he didn’t want to tell her his next words. “I think I have bad news.”  
    Just by how he said that, she pieced things together. He had had a nightmare, and those were usually a sign that something bad was going to happen. She had a feeling that both of the teachers knew about it, since they were here with Richard, but she didn’t want to make him verbally speak of it again.  
    She quickly closed the distance between her and him. As she did so, she was sure his own mutant powers were latching on to hers, forming the mental link that they enjoyed when they were together. She reached the table, placing her hand on his, and once she did so, he started speaking to her in her native language. _“I think someone from my past is coming after me.”_  
    This statement confused her a little. In the time Richard had been at the school, and they had been dating, he never really talked much about people who he didn’t get along with, let alone would come after him. In fact, there was only one person she could think of that would come after Richard, and she had to suppress a shudder as she asked. _“Is it Emplate? If it is him, we have to hide.”_ She was still afraid of her former captor, and still only felt safe attacking him if he was weak. She was sure that in time she would conquer that fear.  
    Richard then looked at her, and she saw worry in his eyes. _“No, it’s not him. Although I wish it was.”_ She was startled by this statement, and she could tell he noticed it. _“I can’t explain why I wish that.”_  
    She tried to think of the possibilities about why someone might wish that. Fear obviously came to mind, and no doubt it was someone Richard might fear. Shd did feel, however, that together they could face this dangerous foe. She then asked, _“Richard, who could scare you that much, enough to make you wish Emplate was attacking?”_   
    She realized that she had asked the wrong question. Richard instantly tensed up. It wasn’t enough to damage his clothing, but his hands had taken on the same form hers did when she used her powers. He managed to put some nasty cuts into the table. She had pulled back so he wouldn’t cut her. She also heard the teachers come up behind her, no doubt concerned about what had just happened.  
    She took the reaction that he wasn’t ready to say more about it, and decided to let him be. He would tell her when he was ready. She then turned around to face the two teachers, and almost instantly, Mr. Cassidy asked her, “Yvette, what did ye say to him?” She saw the worried look on his face, and heard the worry in his voice. He must have seen how fast Richard had tensed up.  
    She felt a little ashamed that she had caused him to do that, and she stepped back while answering Mr. Cassidy’s question. “I think I asked him something he doesn’t feel ready to answer.” She had a feeling that it was an answer that they didn’t want to hear.  
    Sure enough, she heard Miss Frost come up along side of her. “Yvette, you probably know Richard better than any of us here. Is there anyone he might have told you about that he’s made mad?”  
    Yvette closed her eyes for a moment, focusing on what she had learned from Richard. In the short time they had been an item, she learned a bit about Richard’s past. “The only thing I recall is that he didn’t get along with most of the guys he went to school with. Nothing he did to them specifically, but that he didn‘t get along with them.”  
    She had turned to face Miss Frost, and saw the headmistress of the school did not look happy about her answer. “That’s a problem then. The attacker in Richard’s dream was female, not male.”  
    That worried Yvette, since he never mentioned anything about women he might have angered. Was there a girl that might have sought Richard’s affection, and didn’t take no for an answer. Would that girl come after her?  
    She was about to voice that train of thought when another voice spoke up. It caught her a little by surprise, but she recognized the voice due to the southern drawl in it. “Oh my gosh! What happened to Richard?” She glanced in the direction of the voice, and sure enough, she saw a startled Paige Guthrie standing in the doorway. No doubt, while they had all seen Richard mimicking her abilities, no one ever saw him scared while holding those abilities.  
    Yvette turned to face Paige, and remained calm, even though she was starting to worry. She didn’t need to start tensing up now. “He had another of his nightmares last night.” She glanced back at Richard, and noticed he was starting to relax a little. She continued responding to Paige, however, as she did so. “I may have hit a sensitive spot when I tried to inquire on it.” She hoped that would satisfy Paige’s curiosity. Over the past few weeks, she had a feeling that Paige might have been misinterpreting Richard’s attempts to get her and Jonothan back together as interest in her.  
    She heard Paige swallow, and she realized that it was a reflex action. No doubt she was worried about another attack from Emplate. She had heard that Paige had been sliced up by Emplate during his first attack, no doubt when he still had her powers coursing through his system. “Is Emplate going to attack again?” Yvette had a feeling that question was going to be asked a lot.  
    She was thankful when Miss Frost answered the question. She really didn’t think she could handle repeatedly answering it. “I don’t believe that is going to be the case. Richard allowed me to mentally enter his dream, and the attacker was female. We don’t know anything more than that, unless Richard cares to enlighten us on the possibilities.”  
    Yvette turned to Miss Frost, and decided to voice the thought that had crossed her mind. “Miss Frost, I had a thought. What if this female is someone who had feelings for Richard?” She watched the headmistress’s face as she mentally considered it. Something about the look on her face seemed to suggest that she didn’t think that was the case, but she wasn’t dismissing it.  
    She then heard Paige say, “Yvette, if that is the case, you might be in danger. It could be something like that movie ‘The Crush’.” She had never seen that movie, but something in Paige’s tone seemed to hint that it was definitely a dangerous situation, what ever it had been about.  
    She was about to respond to that, but she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned her head, and saw Richard had obviously recovered enough control over her powers to up and move again. He had a smile on his face, but she could see that it was forced. “I wonder if that is what it is. A girl who had feelings for me, but I didn’t because of some reason or another.” He didn’t have to say anymore, but she could tell he was hiding something, something he didn’t want to share just yet.  
    She focused again on the mental link they shared when he had her powers. She had a feeling he was hiding something, but before she could ask, he was already talking to her in that link. _“Give me some time alone. There is someone I think it is, but I need to find the right way to explain it.”_  
    She smiled at him, one she knew he would realize was comforting. “Okay. I’ll see you later.” She saw him nod, and watched as he left the room. She could sense everyone’s eyes on her as he left, and turned back to face them all. She knew they wanted to know what he said, so she took a deep breath, and said, “He has a feeling who it is, and he wants to tell me a little later.” She could already tell that they weren’t totally happy with that, and she understood why. They were hoping he would explain before the attacker came, but fearing that the explanation would come afterwards.

    Monet St. Croix had just woken up, and looked out on the day. Today, she felt, was going to be a nice day. It was to be a perfect day for the new student to arrive on. She quickly turned to her closet, and pulled out one of her nicer outfits. As she did so, she heard a familiar voice in her head react to her choice. _“Ugh. I hate all those goody-goody outfits. It won’t be right when our dear brother shows up to greet the new student.”_  
    She shuddered, and then said softly, “Shut up, Claudette. Marius is not going to ruin this day.” She then put on the outfit she had picked out. She also took a deep, calming breath. She always worried when Claudette tries to assert control. If it happened when someone who had strong psychic powers was around, they would know her darkest secret.  
    Once she was calm, she left the dorm. To her surprise, she noticed another figure walking in her direction. It was Richard Cale, and it looked like he was lost in thought. As she walked in his direction, she could swear she felt Claudette paying extra attention. That would be a problem, so as she neared him, she made sure to pace herself so she didn’t trigger his powers. Once she was close enough, she asked, “Is something troubling you right now, Richard?”  
    She watched as he stopped dead in his tracks, no doubt keeping his power in mind as well. She could tell he was a little surprised to have nearly run into her, but there was also displeasure in his face. When he did respond to her question, the response caught her off guard. “It’s nothing you can help me with, Monet. In fact, in this matter, you are the last person I would ask for help regarding this.”  
    She gasped, a little in shock, and a little in insult. In her mind, she heard her own sister start to cackle. She ignored that, and went a bit on the defensive. “How can you even think that? With all my abilities, I can help you with any problem you might have.” She could have even listed all the times she had saved the team with them.  
    To her shock, his response to her offer made her shut her mouth. “Oh really. Did you reveal the truth about your brother to them, or did he expose it?” She didn’t want to voice the answer, since it had been him who revealed the familial link. When she didn’t answer, she heard him press on. “When I took on your powers, I noticed something odd. I still don’t understand it, but one word tends to enter into my mind when I think about your powers, or better yet, you. Gestalt. I’ve sensed something in you, a part that is separate, yet part of you. What’s the full story with you?”  
    She wanted to respond to that statement, but she wasn’t sure how at that moment. She had told him one thing, but it wasn’t the truth. She had made it up, hoping his power wouldn’t pick up on Claudette. As she tried to respond, she heard her sister respond in her mind. _“Oh, he is clever. He knows I’m in here, but he doesn’t know exactly who I am. He’s a threat that our brother needs to remove.”_  
    She disregarded what her sister said, and decided to counter in an appropriate way. “Richard, there is more to me than you, or them know. I’m still trying to figure out how to properly explain it to all. What you need to remember is that I am on your side, and on the side of Generation X.” She hoped that would satisfy him for the moment. She just hoped that she wouldn’t need to tell anyone the truth, and if she had to, she hoped a partial truth would work.  
    She watched as he took a step backwards, no doubt to prepare to change direction. “Well, I hope you can figure it out. Right now, I need to figure out how to tell Yvette about one person I fear as much as your brother.” She then heard him let out a sardonic sounding laugh. “Maybe if I can figure that out, it might inspire you to tell them about your secret. Maybe you can even explain why my mind thinks ‘Gestalt’ around you.”  
    Again, she heard Claudette cackle in her mind, and for a moment she had a feeling that Richard’s problem was a family issue. She quickly blocked out her sister’s laughter, and asked the question. “Richard, what exactly is bothering you about this?”  
    She could see him processing the question, and for a moment, she felt he was going to answer the question. Before he could, she heard the unmistakable voice of Jubilation Lee answer the question. “From what Paige just told me, he had another nightmare. You remember what happened last time he had one.” She looked in the direction of the voice, and saw the Asian-American former X-Man, and to her own chagrin, Everett Thomas right by her side. They were looking as close as Richard and Yvette had gotten lately. She didn’t want to verbally admit it, but she also had feelings for Everett as well.  
    While she had been distracted, she saw Richard had started to walk away. She went to say something to him, but as he walked away, she heard him mumble something about “Too many cooks.” It had to be one of those old clichés he liked saying from time to time. No doubt he wanted time alone to think things over.  
    As she saw him pick up his pace, she noticed Everett and Jubilation had gotten close enough so they wouldn’t have to raise their voices. Everett was obviously watching as Richard got farther and farther away. As he watched him, she heard Everett say, “This one has him really spooked. Paige had said Yvette had asked him a question, and it resulted in him tensing up, and putting some nasty gouges in the table.” That made Monet raise an eyebrow in surprise.  
    She turned back to the others, and sighed. “So, where do you think he’s going to go to think things over?” In part, she wanted an idea of where to avoid, but part of her wanted to know in case she had a chance to talk to him again. He had hit a nerve when he used the word ‘Gestalt’.  
    It was Jubilation who answered the question. “Well, since Beast took Artie, Leech and Franklin to the X-Men’s temporary home, Rich might be disappearing to the tree house.” She nodded, and figured that would be a good idea. Usually, the kids some how made their way to the tree house at the first opportunity. Then Jubilation continued her statement, and that made her worry. “He might get an hour of peace. I think Ang, Jono and Mondo are going to be doing some practice in the Grotto after breakfast.” For a moment, she recalled that she needed food as well.  
    She looked at the two, and asked, “Did you two have breakfast yet?” When both shook their heads, she realized that Paige must have bumped into them during the start of her morning jog. She then said, “Then let’s all go get some food. We do have a lot of work to do today.” They all started to head in the direction of the Dining Hall, and doing so, she hoped that Claudette wouldn’t try to cause any trouble. This day was already going to be a problem, should anything arise.

*****************************

    Jonothan Starsmore looked around the Biosphere. He, Angelo, and Mondo had all decided that since the whole Black Tom incident, where Mondo had ended up captured, they all needed to pick up their training. The blighter had managed to get the drop on all of them, and they thought they were prepared for such a thing. Obviously, they hadn’t been, although at the time, Angelo appeared to be the best prepared.  
    This morning, they had decided on the practice situation. Each one of them had to try and get the drop on the other two. As Emma had often suggested, they would test out their abilities on each other. As of right now, he was trying to figure out how each would think. He had no doubt that with his abilities, Angelo would be sticking to the trees. His friend had taken to doing like Spiderman with his powers. Jonothan couldn’t fault him for that one.  
    Mondo would be the trickier one to deal with. With Mondo’s powers, he could literally morph into the very ground of the Biosphere. That would make each step he took a risky move. The only thing in his favor was that Mondo couldn’t be everywhere. That would stretch him out too thin, so Jonothan knew he had to be careful with each step he took.  
    Jonothan looked around for a moment, getting his bearings. He was near the tree house. As he looked at it, he noticed something odd about the tree he was under. There were some grayish vines hanging down from the tree. He spun around, and backed away from the tree, getting closer to the tree the tree house was in. As he did so, he glanced up, and saw Angelo up in the tree. He responded to his teammate as he let loose a small blast to shake the tree. _“Nice try, Angelo, but your timing was off.”_  
    As Angelo fell to the ground, doing his best to land with minimal injury, Jonothan heard him respond to the statement. “You got me, but I think Mondo got the jump on both of us.” It was then he noticed that the ground under their feet was starting to shake. It took him a second to realized that they were both literally on top of Mondo.  
    Jonothan couldn’t react in time as Mondo fully sprang up, sending both he and Angelo in different directions. Angelo flew back against the tree he had been in. Jonothan had flew back into the tree, and managed to land on a branch just below the treehouse. As they both landed in the trees, Mondo took more his normal form with a smile on his face. “Well, did I do well with waiting for you to arrive?”  
    Angelo had been the first to respond, and Jonothan could hear a bit of laughter in his friend’s voice. “You did very well, Mondo. I think you would have surprised many of the guys I used to hang with.”  
    Jonothan had to agree with that, especially after the road trip they had ended up taking. _“Ang is right, Mondo. You waited for the right moment, and took advantage of our focus on each other. You’ve successfully reminded us how valuable the element of surprise can be.”_  
    Jonothan knew how powerful surprise could be, however, the moment that stood out the most to him had been when his power had manifested. The surprise of that moment had left Gayle paralyzed, and had given him a bit of a guilt complex. Sometimes, he would hear that very explosion, even though it had happened some time ago. He even heard it now.  
    To his surprise, the tree house was the source of the explosion. He realized, however, what was the actual source of the explosion. Before the blast, he heard the beginning of a certain word. Soon enough, he saw a familiar figure come flying out of the tree house. He could have sworn he also heard the figure start to swear, but it was drowned out by the explosion they all heard.  
    They all ran for the figure that had flown out of the tree house. It didn’t take Jonothan long to figure out what exactly happened. As they all reached the figure, Jonothan saw that it had been Richard Cale, and he had obviously realized what had happened as well. Richard only had half a face at the moment, and the newest member of their team said _“Ugh, I probably should have checked if someone was going to be here today.”_  
    Jonothan saw Mondo reach out a hand to help Richard up. “It might have helped avoid this. Are you alright? Is there a reason you were up in tree house when we were practicing?” He then saw Mondo looked a bit worried. Ever since the Black Tom incident, Mondo treated Richard as one of the best friends he would ever had. “You know you could tell me if something is wrong.”  
    As Richard stood up, he answered the question, although it seemed a little reluctant. That was a bit understandable since Mondo could be a bit persistent when it came to someone he was worried about. _“Sorry. I had needed some time to myself to think about something. I had nightmare last night.”_  
    Jonothan had remembered what had happened the last time Richard had a nightmare. The day after that, Emplate had attacked the school, and it had been a near disaster. Judging by the look on what currently remained of his face, Richard must not have had much sleep last night. _“Is this something we need to be worried about?”_ Inwardly, he hoped it was something that could be dismissed, but deep down, he had a feeling it wasn’t. He really didn’t want anything to happen, especially since he was hoping to apologize to Paige about what happened last Thanksgiving.  
     _“To be honest, I don’t know. However, I think I finally know how to explain to Yvette what has been on my mind.”_ For a moment, he saw Richard go to cover his mouth, before stopping. _“Forgot that I don’t have a mouth when I have your powers, Jono.”_ He then looked up at the tree house. _“Ugh. I’m going to hate explaining to Artie, Franklin and Leech why their tree house is missing a wall.”_  
    Jonothan watched as Angelo put a hand on Richard’s shoulder, and just smiled. “Don’t worry, Rich. Ev and I will have it patched up before they return. We helped build it in the first place. Inwardly, Jonothan was thankful he wasn’t included in that project. He had decided that it was finally time that he should patch things up with Paige. In fact, maybe he could do so during the arrival of the new student.  
    At that moment, he heard Mondo ask a different question, probably to change the mood. “Hey Richard, what do we know about the new arrival. Isn’t she someone your uncle had been protecting?”  
    He watched as Richard reached into a pocket and pulled out a letter. _“According to what my uncle had included in the letter he had somehow sent out before you know what happened, it says her name is Daria, and she’s around Jubilee’s age. Anything else we have to find out when she gets here.”_  
    It wasn’t an answer Jonothan had wanted to hear, but it was probably the best they were going to get. He did roll his eyes, and then asked the other important question on his mind. _“Alright, so is there a reason why we are all supposed to go get her?”_ He felt this was unusual, since every time a new student came to the school, they were always greeted by one teacher, and maybe one student.  
    He watched as Richard looked at the letter again. _“The letter says it would be best. It could be possible that somehow he figured that Emplate might attack. Maybe he wasn’t sure if there would be some survivors of what he did to Zero Tolerance.”_ Jonothan had to give that thought a nod. The latter was definitely possible, since he must have set some safeguard in place to protect the girl. Someone could have exploited it for their own end as well.  
    He saw Angelo nod. “Sounds about right. With all the various groups and enemies that some of us have made, there would probably be safety in numbers. Let’s face it, airports haven’t been good places for us.” Jonothan had to admit that Angelo was right. Emplate attacked him at the airport, and tried to ambush Richard there as well. They even got into a fight at the airport when they found Mondo there.  
    He noticed then that Richard was nodding, and even had his eyes closed. For a moment, he thought Richard might have even fallen asleep, but then he saw him open his eyes. It was obvious that he just had a revelation about something. _“I better go. There is something I need to talk to Yvette about, and I need to tell her about it before we go to the airport.”_ He then saw Richard dash off, no doubt, if Jonothan recalled right, in the direction of the girl’s dorm. He remember that the others had started to work on preparing a room for the new girl.  
    Once Richard was gone, Jonothan looked up at the tree house. It might take some time to get the tree house fixed up. He then said to the others, _“Think we should stop training and maybe start fixing the tree house, or maybe helping prepare for the new arrival?”_  
    He glanced at the other, and saw Angelo shaking his head. He had a feeling he knew why. “Nah. I still need to get the jump on both of you.” He, Mondo and Angelo then all headed back to training. They still had some time before they would all depart for the airport.

    Jubilation Lee looked around the room, taking in all that they had done from her vantage point. The room had become decorated in a mix of what everyone had liked, since no one had a clue what the new student would like. Right now, she was helping Yvette, whom she still called Penny, hang up the blue curtains she had picked out. They were currently being assisted by Monet, whose help consisted at this point of saying, “I think you need to move it to the left.”  
    This was frustrating, since Jubilation knew how to hang curtains, and that while the curtains looked old fashioned, they didn‘t need to be exact in centering them. It was also frustrating because since the whole Onslaught incident, and their temporary stay at Emma‘s Canadian residence, Monet and her had called a truce. Still, Monet’s uber-critical eye was starting to get on her nerves. More out of frustration, Jubilation said, “Monet, if you want to help, why don‘t you get up here and help us instead of telling us what to do.”  
    The response she got was calm, which was a plus. She had noticed earlier that Monet was a little bothered by something, no doubt linked to her encounter with Richard earlier. "I am helping, Jubilation, by watching from here. I can notice things you can't because I am not close to it. Besides, it was a suggestion, not an order."  
    She was about to respond to that last comment when Everett spoke up from where he was. "I think it looks fine, Jubes." She looked at him, and it calmed her a bit to see his smile. While she was sure his opinion was a little biased, it was still a vote for her.  
    Paige, who was busy helping Everett in making the bed for the new girl, looked for a moment before responding. "I don't know. Ah think it needs to go a bit to the right." The response made Jubilation want to roll her eyes. Three different people giving three different opinions. While she had to agree with Monet's logic that someone not close to the curtains would be a better judge, three different opinions made it difficult to know who was right.  
    She turned towards the redhead, and asked, "What do you think, Penny? We need a tie breaker." Jubilation always viewed Yvette as a sister, even though she never had a real sister. Since Richard's arrival, and Yvette came out of her shell, she knew Yvette viewed her the same way.  
    She watched as Yvette looked it over, and then looked out at everyone. She had a feeling that Yvette was trying to figure out whom she should trust most on this. After a moment, she responded, “Well, sis, I don’t know who is right. I think we need a tie breaker.” She then saw Yvette lean towards her, and heard her softly say, “And Monet was right. She didn’t give an order.” Jubilation noticed that Yvette had shivered for a moment, as if she had remembered something awful. It was a reminder that Monet was definitely not like her brother, the evil mutant vampire, Emplate.  
    Jubilation sighed, and then said, “Alright. Can someone help us break this tie? I would like to get down from here.” She was starting to get tired of holding the curtain up while they were trying to set it.  
    It was that moment that she heard a new voice in the room. “At least half an inch to the left, and it will look right.” The statement was more helpful than Monet’s, but she could tell the speaker was a bit tired. It was even better that Richard had arrived when he did. She had a feeling that Yvette was starting to get a little anxious with how things were.  
    Once they set the curtain, they both got down, and Jubilation wasn‘t surprised when Yvette had rushed over to Richard‘s side. As they had been working on things, Yvette had mentioned to her a few time that she was concerned about him. She looked at Richard, and said, “How are you right now? I know Penny‘s been very worried regarding, well, you know.”  
    She saw him weakly smile, and said, “I‘ve gotten my head around a few things. I hope you don‘t need Yvette anymore, since I need to have a few words with her, in private.” Jubilation could tell by a look that was in Yvette‘s eyes that she figured this was something private about him, something he felt he needed to tell her first. In the short time he had been at the school, they had all realized the bond to two had formed, and if he needed to share anything, she was the first to know. It became very important after his depression had hit, and everyone tried to respect it.  
    Almost on cue, she saw Yvette look at her, and the others, and said, “Guys, this is important. I hope I’m not leaving you short handed.” Jubilation looked around the room, and to be honest, she thought they were close to finished with preparing the room.  
    Paige was the first to respond, and Jubilation had to agree with her. “It’s alright, Yvette. We are almost done here anyhow.” Before anything else could be said, Yvette and Richard had left the room. To be honest, Jubilation couldn’t blame her. If Everett might be in a similar state, she would have done the same.  
    Silence hung in the air after Yvette had left for a few moment before Paige finally broke it. “Ah wonder if what he wants to talk to her about is what she asked him earlier. It had struck a nerve.”  
    Jubilation had been wondering about that. She hadn’t even thought about asking Paige earlier when she told them what had happened. She turned to Paige, and figured now was a good time to ask. “Any idea what Penny had asked him that caused him to tense up earlier?”  
    In all honesty, she didn’t expect an answer that would shed light on the situation. She wasn’t overly surprised when Paige just shook her head. “Ah honestly have no idea what she asked. Although, Miss Frost did seem to hint that the attacker was going to female.”  
    At that moment, Jubilation noticed that Monet was biting her lower lip. No doubt that little encounter that she and Everett had seen earlier had revealed something, or maybe a clue at what was going on in Richard‘s head. “What is it, Monet? What are you thinking?”  
    She saw Monet look away for a moment, and then said, almost with a bit of discomfort in her voice, “I think he may have a skeleton in his closet. Something, or someone, he was hoping he would never face again.”  
    Jubilation could only think of one reason that Monet would come to that conclusion, and it didn‘t make her feel good. “Please don‘t tell me that it’s like you and Emplate. We don’t need another situation like that.”  
    To her chagrin, Monet didn’t face her, but just shrugged. “Maybe, but I’m not certain. It could be a similar connection, though.” That did not make Jubilation feel better.  
    She then felt a hand on her shoulder, and she glanced back to see Everett was right there. He had a comforting smile on his face. “Relax, Jubes. If it is anything like Emplate, we can handle it.” While that did make her feel better, deep down she was hoping that what ever the skeleton in Richard’s closet might be, it wouldn’t be someone like what she had crossed paths with once: a version of herself, working for Mojo, with the name Abcissa.

    Richard walked out of the girl’s dorm, hand in hand with Yvette, and back to the main building. He had finally figured out the right way to tell her what he had been thinking about all this time. He wasn’t worried about being overheard, since when he was with her, they could communicate using the mental link they shared when he had her abilities. _“Yvette, there is something I need to tell you about. Something from my past.”_ It was the most delicate way he could put it.  
    He looked at her, and he saw her looking at him. In her blue eyes, he could see concern. She was worried, and he knew she would have right to be. _“What is it? Is it linked to the nightmare you had?”_ If he was right about who the figure in his dream was, she had all right to be concerned.  
    The tricky part had been how to begin this part of the story. It was a bit of a dark part of the family history. _“I believe it is linked to the nightmare. You remember how I told you about my uncle, the one who married my mother’s sister.”_ After the whole situation that led to the upcoming arrival at the school, he felt he needed to clarify that part.  
    She nodded, recalling the details he had shared with her about that. _“Yes. He’s the one with precognition. He was the one who helped identify your powers. So he’s not a blood relation to you.”_ It had become common knowledge in the world that mutants could not use their powers directly on blood relations, unless there was a power level linked to that as well. That was something there wasn’t much clarity on.  
    He looked forward as they reached the main building on the campus. _“Correct. He had been in the military when he first got out of school. He actually had been called in to one of the wars. In some ways, he was one of the lucky ones who came back, but he did get injured. The injury left him unable to have children.”_ When he was younger, Richard couldn’t wrap his head around that idea, but as he got older, and a little wiser to the world, he realized what kind of injury could do that.  
    To his surprise, Yvette seemed to pick up on that faster than he had when he first heard about it. _“Oh my goodness. That must have been horrible. I know my parents had first explained that to me when I was going to have a baby sister.”_ For a minute, he saw a look of sadness cross her face. For a brief moment, Richard had a memory pop up in his head, something about a friend of the family overseas expecting a second child, but it disappeared just as suddenly when Yvette came to the next conclusion. _“Did they adopt then, since he couldn’t father a child?”_  
    He nodded, recalling the first child they took in. _“They did. The first child they adopted was a boy. They got him when he was just a baby. Everyone in the family loved him, and he was happy.”_ Richard stopped as he yawned.  
    Almost as if his yawn was a prompt, he felt Yvette's hand squeeze his hand. _"What happened then? Did he do something bad?"_  
    He shook his head, and squeezed her hand as well. _"No. He did nothing bad. He wanted a sibling. They went through the process again, and adopted a girl. She had come from a broken home, and had not had much luck in foster homes. It wasn't until she joined the family that it was found out that she was the cause. "_ He shuddered, remembering how they had found out.  
    He then felt his legs give out a little. The lack of sleep, as well as the emotional drain recalling that painful memory was a bit much for him. To his relief, Yvette managed to catch him, and help him stay up. As they entered one room, one with a couch, she said to him, _"I think you need to tell Mr. Cassidy and Miss Frost as well. I can go get them."_  
    He nodded, and then yawned again. She had point in that the teachers should know. Unfortunately, he doubted he could stay awake much longer. He needed some rest. He went over to the couch, and said to her, _"I think you are right, but I need some rest. Can you wake me before we have to leave to get Darla from the airport? It may be the only way to avert this nightmare from coming true."_  
    He had been looking at her, lost in her eyes as he had asked that. She returned his smile, and held his hand as he laid down. _"Of course. I will wake you when it is time to go."_ He yawned again, and as he closed his eyes, he felt at ease, especially as Yvette said aloud, "I will protect you like you protect me."

    Not to far away, Sean was going over what they would need to do to pick up the new girl. It was getting closer to the time they would need to leave for the airport. The drive there would take some time, as would the drive back. With the worry of Richard's dream, he was trying to minimize the opportunity any threat might have. The fact that the mystery figure in the dreams was still an unknown female wasn't helping matters.  
    What also did not help matters was the fact that Emma was looking out the window in thought. No one seemed to like the fact that this attacker was an unknown female. The only thing they could figure was that it was someone linked to Richard. After a moment more of the silence, Emma finally said something he did not really want to consider. "Sean, what if this threat from Richard's dream is this new girl, Daria? We still know next to nothing about her."  
    Sean sighed, since he had briefly entertained the notion, but ruled it out. "I highly doubt that is the case, Emma. If she were a threat, why would his uncle out her in his care?". He did not want to admit that it was highly unlikely that it was some sort of plot along those lines, especially after what Emma had told Jean and Scott.  
    He heard Emma sigh, and then respond. "Sorry, Sean, but I am trying to prepare for what might happen. You can hope for the best, but I will prepare for the worst. Richard could be mentally going through what older siblings go through when faced with the prospect of a new sibling. Besides, she was in Zero Tolerance. That might have warped her mind a bit, especially if she wasn‘t sure she was a mutant.”  
    Sean had to give Emma a little credit for that. The new girl had joined the anti-mutant group. There were some individuals who hated their own race. The only thing that kept him from really consider it was the detail he was about to mention. “Emma, we can‘t suspect Daria on that. We don‘t even know what her powers might be.”  
    He saw Emma was about to counter that statement, but stopped when they both heard a knocking on his office door. It wasn‘t fully closed, but all of the students did knock to be polite when it was only ajar. He glanced at the door, and said, “Come in.” He watched as the door opened, and Yvette came in, a look of mild concern on her face. It almost worried him, but he had a feeling what her arrival was about. He calmly asked, “Did he tell you something, Yvette?”  
    She nodded, and sat down in one of the chair he had in his office as she answered. “Yes, but I told him he should be the one who tells you this. All he gave me were little details. What I can say is that the person he has a feeling it was in the dream might have been the daughter of his mother’s sister.” Sean noticed a look of surprise on Emma’s face as that question seemed to diffuse her theory on that it might be Daria.  
    He then saw a frown on her face, and he felt it on his face as well. This returned the possible attacker into someone they all didn’t know, except for Richard. In a moment, Emma finally asked, “Is it possible for Richard to elaborate more on this matter? If this is something we need to prepare for, the more time we have, the better.” It was another valid point. If Richard did have an idea who the attacker would be, and their powers, they needed to prepare for them.  
    He noticed that Yvette quickly looked away, as if she didn’t want to be scolded for what she was about to say. “The lack of sleep had caught up with him, Miss Frost. He fell asleep in the lounge, on the sofa in there.” That worried Sean a little. Since the time to leave for the airport was getting closer and closer, he was worried that Richard wouldn‘t be awake in time.  
    After a moment, he saw Emma walk over to Yvette, and place a hand on the girl‘s shoulder. He wondered what it was all about, until Emma said, “Yvette, I know you are worried about Richard, and if he might have another nightmare, so why don‘t you go back to the lounge, and stay by him. Besides, you may need to wake him up if he‘s not awake by the time we have to leave.” He watched as Yvette nodded, and then left the room, heading back to the lounge.  
    Once she was out of the room, he glanced over at Emma, and before he could say a word, she looked at him and said, “No, I didn‘t try to influence her. It takes a lot to get through all the barriers she has set up, which is partially due to her native language, and partially due to her own powers. You‘d have to be blind not to see the love she has for Richard.”  
    He held up a hand, yielding to her evident point. He had been thinking so much about what might be coming, that he didn‘t even think of the obvious in this case. “Yur right, Emma. I should have known better. This whole dream thing has me on edge. I just hope the lad wakes up before we have to leave. If his dream is right, that could be the only thing that could prevent it from playing out.”  
    He watched as Emma nodded, and then crossed her arms in front of her. “From what I saw, they were the only two here. I doubt Yvette would leave with us with Richard asleep in the lounge. If we have to leave them both behind, then we have someone stay here with them. It‘s not idea, but it‘s better than not going right away. Who knows what danger Daria might end up in if we don‘t go right away?” He had to agree with Emma on that.  
    Still, he started getting a nagging feeling that something bad was going to happen. What was worse was that if something did happen, Richard had expressly forbid letting his family know about the bad things that did happen to the school. Yes, they had told his father about Emplate‘s last attack, but they hadn‘t told them about Richard‘s depression, or Bastion‘s arrival. He thought that somehow, this was something that should be known about, but to be honest, how could he breech that? Even worse, how would he breech it if something bad did happen to Richard today?  
    Sean sighed, and then started to get ready to go. The time to go to the airport was getting nearer and nearer. He just hoped that Richard would wake up before they had to go. It would be two less things to worry about.

*******************************************


	3. Dreams Do Come True

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While a majority of the school goes to fetch the new student, some are forced to stay behind due to circumstances. During that time, the dream comes true, and the new threat attacks. The question is, will the others return in time or not.

            Emplate sat in his central chamber, patiently waiting.  While he had gotten some information about a new mutant coming to the Xavier School today, he was not going to go after them this time.  His goal was to reclaim Yvette, and the young man that she had become her boyfriend, Richard Cale.

            The only hitch in his plan to capture them was where they would be when they go to fetch the new student.  He was hoping that Elane would be able to sneak into the school, and then discretely ambush Richard and Yvette when they got back.  He seriously doubted that his targets would remain at the school, and if they did, he doubted they would be alone.

            He was brought out of his thoughts at that moment when he heard a familiar voice in his head.  It was his key source in the school.  _“Brother, I have information for you.  If you are planning something, you might have an opportunity soon.  Richard might not be going to fetch the new student, and Yvette will be here with him.  I must warn you, however, that they think something is up.  Richard had some sort of dream, and I have no doubt they won’t leave them alone.”_

            He didn’t respond, but it told him a lot.  For some reason, he felt Richard was a bit familiar to him, even though he was certain he never met the young man before.  It was a mystery he wanted to get to the bottom of, and he would need enough time to do it.  That was something he would hope to have once he captured them.  Still, he knew he would get them in time.  He would also get some of the answers he sought about his own sisters.  He had his own theory on that, but for now, he would enjoy the occasional bits of information she could manage to get to him.

            With that information in mind, he knew what had to happen.  He got up, and left his sanctum, to talk with his new ally, and possibly more than that.  He was starting to feel more of an attraction to this girl, one that had nothing to do with his hunger.  It could very well be that he was forming the same kind of bond with her as Yvette had formed with Richard Cale.  No doubt, he could use that to his advantage when trying to break the two.  It was a thought that made him smile.

 

            Elane was looking out one of the windows of the lighthouse.  It gave her the perfect view of the school that her ‘cousin’ was at.  It was the perfect vantage point to observe the place, which was proof to her that her new ally was smart.  She wondered how they never noticed the place before, but given the tree line, it was possible that they didn’t notice the place at all.

            She had been judging the woods, trying to figure the best way back, and thought she finally had a path figured out.  It had to be the right path, regardless if she was alone, or as she hoped, with her quarry.  She was just finalizing her path in her mind when she heard someone entering the room.  She didn’t need to look back, since she knew who it was.  Still she turned around to face Emplate, and asked, “Is it time?”

            She saw him nod as he responded, but something in his tone made her worry a little.  “Soon.  It seems almost everyone will be leaving the school.  Certain intel suggests that both Richard and Yvette will be staying behind, but they are expecting someone to show up.”

            Elane did not like the sound of that.  She was certain that she had kept a low profile since Richard had discovered her plans.  There could be no way that he knew she was nearby, or even plotting to attack.  Still, she had to ask.  “What exactly do you mean that they are expecting someone to show up?”

            She watched him as he responded, and he didn’t look worried about what he was saying.  “It appears that Richard has some sort of precognitive power when it comes to his dreams.  They expect an attack, and plan not to leave the two alone.  No doubt, one of the others will be staying with them.  Will this be a problem?”

            She had heard no threat in the question and thought about what he just said.  When using her powers, she had to make sure of how large the group was she planned to be in.  Larger groups usually meant she had to use her powers more for stealth.  Smaller numbers meant she could use her powers more as an attack.  She also had to take the power into account, but she could determine that on the fly.

            She crossed her arms in front of her and responded.  “One extra person isn’t a problem.  I can handle them solo, and then capture the lovebirds.”  She then adjusted her stance as a question popped in to her mind.  “I have been wondering, however, what makes the girl so special?”

            Elane watched as Emplate tried looking elsewhere for a moment, as if what he was about to say pained him a bit.  Finally, he responded to her question.  “Yvette had been on of my captives, and a bit of a thrall.  I believe her own powers include a healing factor.  When she was just a food source, she lasted so much longer than most other captives.  If an opportunity had arisen, I would have traded one mutant, or even information they needed to get her back.”

            She nodded, fully understanding the importance of this Yvette girl.  Then, an evil thought crossed her mind.  “And now you’d have the extra bonus of forcing Richard to watch her suffer.  It would be torture for both of them.”  She watched as he nodded in agreement to that.

            She returned her gaze to the window, and said, “Travel time to the place will be a trick.  Do you have a way to shorten the trip?  I already have a way to fox the cameras.”

            He nodded, and said, “We leave now.  I will keep you out of synch with the world, allowing us to pass through some things.  Once we get to the school, we will phase back in with reality, and you can get on to the school grounds.”

            She nodded and followed him as he left the room.  As they started down to the door, she said, “Good.  I should be able to get them, and even bring them here without being seen.  Any other advice?”

            She wasn’t surprised when he responded to the question.  “Keep my involvement out of this at the moment.  While I’m certain Generation X will figure it out at some point, they could be misdirected if Richard has already told them about you.”

            She nodded and took his hand as they reached the door.  “Knowing Richard, he might not have said anything.  He always seemed to keep things to himself unless he trusted people.”  With those last words, she stopped speaking, as everything changed.  The world around them looked different.  She could still see the world around them, but it seemed a bit grey.  Also, there were hands reaching out, as if trying to grab them, or more specifically, Emplate.

            Soon enough, she saw that they had reached the school.  As they had, she saw everything return to normal, and she released Emplate’s hand.  She then moved forward, wrapping her aura around her, using it to hide her from view.  As she did that, she heard Emplate say, “Very handy trick.  Once you capture them, bring them north of the school, to where the lighthouse is.”  She didn’t respond, keeping focused on her powers so she could get into the school grounds.

 

*****************************

 

            Everett Thomas walked into the lounge with the rest of the group that had been working on the new student’s room.  He had hoped that they weren’t late, since it seemed like Monet had one of her spells.  Luckily, it didn’t seem to last long, and they had to be on time.  What they did see, however, only partially surprised him.

            Laying on the sofa was Richard, and Yvette was sitting on a chair that she must have moved close to the sofa.  Richard had to be asleep, no doubt giving in to the lack of rest the nightmare had caused.  Yvette was holding Richard’s one hand, while caressing his hair.  It was the kind of sight that reinforced the impact they all suspected he had had on her.  They would be inseparable.

            When she finally noticed they had entered the room, she motioned for them to be on the quiet side.  He nodded, as well as everyone else, and they moved quietly to different spots in the room.  He knew that Jubilee was staying by his side, and Monet moved over to a window, and Paige moved to another chair in the room.  He then approached Yvette, and softly said, “Do you think he’ll wake up before we have to leave?”

            He saw her glance at Richard, and then backed up as she stood up, and moved away from Richard.  No doubt, she was worried about him, and he could hear it in her response.  “No, I don’t think so, and I’m worried about it.  I don’t want him to be left alone here.  If his dream is right, someone is coming that wants to kill him.  What is worse, the dream had both of us in it, so we can’t be here alone.”

            It was obvious to him that she was starting to get upset about it.  In fact, she was starting to cry about it.  Even worse, her skin was starting to take on the red hue signaling that she was starting to tense up.  He was thankful when Jubilee spoke up.  “Penny, don’t worry.  If you stay behind, one of use will remain to help you.”  Again, Jubilee knew exactly what to say, as it relaxed Yvette.

            As the rest of the group started to enter the lounge, he wondered if the others would be that understanding if he and Jubilee would be in a similar situation.  He was certain that the guys would have his back.  In fact, he noticed Angelo was walking over to him, glancing over at Richard as he spoke.  “He finally gave in to sleep?  He was looking a bit drug out in the Grotto.”

            Everett nodded as everyone else found a spot in the room, and said to his friend, “Yea.”  Then he fully caught what Angelo had said.  “Where was he in the grotto when you guys saw him?”

            He saw a slightly worried look on his friend’s face, and he was certain he wasn’t going to like the answer.  “He had been in the tree house.  Jono got a bit too close, and, well, you know.”  Everett lowered his head, already figuring out what had happened.  No doubt, when Richard’s power kicked in, it caused a good deal of damage to it.

            He sighed and looked at Angelo.  “So we are putting it together after we get the new girl?”  He saw Angelo nod, and hoped they could get it back together before the kids got back.  He could just imagine how upset they might be to see their favorite place destroyed.

            After a few moments, he saw Emma and Sean entering the room.  Both of them looked over at the sofa, and he could tell they were worried about Richard still being asleep.  He watched as Sean turned to Yvette and asked, “Do ye want to try and wake him, lass?”  Everett watched as she looked back at Richard, and then shook her head.  He had a feeling that Yvette didn’t want to wake him since Richard probably needed the sleep.  He could also tell that neither Sean nor Emma were happy about that response, but they weren’t angry about it either.  Most likely, they were frustrated by the situation it put them in.

            After a moment, Sean calmly said, “I had a feeling.  I also bet ye want to stay behind with him.”  Everett saw Yvette nod, and watched as she sat back down and held Richard’s hand again.  Inwardly, he wanted to reach for Jubilee’s hand as well.  She, however, beat him to the punch as he felt her take his hand.  For a moment, he glanced looked around, seeing if any of the others noticed the action.  He could tell that Jono had noticed the action.

            Before he could say anything, Emma spoke up, looking at the group.  “Since Richard and Yvette are staying here while we go for the new student, I would like a volunteer to stay with them.  If Richard’s dream is to be believed, the attacker comes when they are here by themselves.”

            For a moment, Everett thought about volunteering.  The only thing holding him back was that they wouldn’t know the power of the possible attacker.  While his aura could get into synch and mimic certain powers, there were others he couldn’t fully use.  If that were to happen with this attacker, it could be a tragedy.

            Just before he could say anything, though, someone had already raised a hand to volunteer.  “Miss Frost, Ah can remain behind.  Ah actually want to talk with Yvette for a bit.”  Everett noticed a mixture of looks when she said that.  Most of them were relief, probably for different reasons.  Two others, however, had looks that said something different.  Jono had a look of disappointment on his face, and Yvette had a look of concern or suspicion on her face.  He had an idea why she might be suspicious.  Everett had been hoping that Paige and Jono would patch things up, and even figured that Richard was also trying to get the two back together.

            Before he could dwell too much on that thought, he saw Sean nod, and turned to look at both Paige and Yvette.  “Alright but be careful.  Should anything happen, take cover in the passages that lead to the command centers.   They will be on a lock down, so they can’t be entered by anyone but those at the school.  It will allow you to have a level of security.”  He saw both nodding, signaling they understood.

            Sean then clapped his hands together, and said, “With that settled, let’s all get to the van.  We have a new student to pick up.”  Everett saw both Sean and Emma head to the door, and everyone followed.  Inwardly, Everett felt they were taking a serious chance leaving Paige, Richard and Yvette behind, but there wasn’t much else they could do.  They had to hope for the best, since if they didn’t get to the airport, it could put the new student in a serious dilemma.

            When they got into the van, Jubilee sat next to him, and said, “Hey, Ev, do you think it’s the right move leaving them all here.  We know so little about Richard’s background.  Hell, he hasn’t gone into much detail about his family.  What he does tell us, it’s not much, and you recall how things played out regarding Bastion.”  He nodded, fully recalling how that had played out, and how she almost ended up his prisoner.

            He placed a hand on hers and tried to comfort her a bit.  “Don’t worry.  I don’t think that there could be anything worse in his family than Bastion.”  Inwardly, he didn’t fully believe it.  Something in him told him that his conclusion was wrong.  In some ways, something about this situation reminded him about how they all found out Monet’s relationship with Emplate, as well as the fact that Sean’s cousin, Black Tom Cassidy, had been a major threat.  Inwardly, while he could tell his words comforted Jubilee a bit, he now started to worry more as the van started to make its way to Logan Airport.

 

            Paige looked out the lounge window as the van left the school gates.  She had noticed that Jonothan had looked hurt when she volunteered to stay behind.  While she was still hurt by what he had done back at Thanksgiving, she couldn’t remain angry at him.  She had realized she still cared about him.  She also recognized some of Richard’s interests in her life as attempts to patch things up between her and Jono.

            She would admit to herself that in her anger at Jono, she mistook Richard’s interests as a possible love interest.  The only thing that kept her from fully acting on that was the fact that Yvette loved Richard.  She didn’t want to hurt Yvette, and she could really tell that Richard loved Yvette.  She didn’t want to ruin that.  In fact, part of her reason for wanting to stay behind with them was so she could explain that to Yvette.  She could tell from some of Yvette’s reactions to her as of late was that of a threat to the relationship.

            She looked back at Yvette, who had gone back to holding Richard’s hand while he slept.  She noticed that something didn’t fully seem right, since he seemed to be tossing and turning.  She also noticed that Yvette’s eyes were glowing a bit.  No doubt Yvette was trying to wake Richard using the mental link they seemed to share when he had her powers.  Rather than startle Yvette at this moment, she quietly waited, hoping that Yvette would notice her.

            After a moment, she saw Yvette look at her.  No doubt Yvette wasn’t unaware of what was going on in the real world.  Paige could also tell that Yvette was a little bit concerned about her presence.  There was almost a tone in her voice when she spoke.  “Paige, I do appreciate that you want to help, but what in the world do you want to talk to me about?”

            Paige knew she had to clear things up.  She pulled a chair over and sat down facing Yvette.  She also made sure that how she sat in the chair didn’t appear threatening.  “First off, Ah know that Ah’ve been probably giving off signals that Ah might interested in Richard.”  She paused for a moment.  Lately she had been managing to shed her southern accent, possibly due to being at the school.  Being nervous like this tended to bring it back into her normal speech.

            During her pause, Yvette had managed to respond to that statement with a little edge in her voice.  “I have managed to notice that.  I can tell you for certain that he’s not interested in you in that way.”

            Paige nodded in agreement, and she saw Yvette’s eyes go a little wide with that action.  “I know.   My anger at Jono had me misinterpret his interactions with me.  I know he’s been trying to encourage me to get back with Jono.  It’s actually something I plan to do once they get back.  I just hope I have the chance to do so.”  For a moment, she started to fear that somehow, the new student would find Jono as captivating as she did.

            She noticed a smile had crossed Yvette’s face at that moment.  Yvette then took her free hand and held Paige’s.  Paige didn’t react to it in a negative way, since she saw the smile on Yvette’s face was also in the girl’s blue eyes.  “Paige, even when I didn’t talk, I could tell you two would make a nice couple.  Sometimes the loudest things we communicate are the things we don’t physically say.  The love you two seemed to have for each other was there.  I could tell it in your actions.”

            Those words comforted Paige a bit more and bolstered her own confidence.  Once everyone got back, she was going to patch things up with Jono.  She could forgive him for his outburst at Thanksgiving.  She got up and put the chair back.  As she did so, she decided to try and find out more about what to expect, should an attack come.  “Yvette, before Richard fell asleep, did he tell you anything about who this attacker might be?”

            She watched as Yvette looked thoughtful for a moment.  She had a feeling why that was.  If Richard had told her anything, it was probably in private, and they might have agreed that whatever information was given would be best coming from him.  It might be possible that he had told her enough that she could relay some information to Sean and Emma, but the main details would have to be filled in by Richard.

            Before Yvette could give an answer, there was a loud crash that shattered the quiet of the building.  It startled the both of them, and Yvette had already started to activate her powers, at least in part.  Her red hair was starting to spike, and her hands almost became claws, but the most pronounced thing Paige saw was that Yvette’s eyes became a pure blue.  Paige, when she heard the sound, made sure her attention was on the background noise.  Yvette managed to ask the key question without the stutter that signaled she was about to fully tense up.  “What was that?”

            Paige already had an idea on what it was.  “No doubt it’s our mystery attacker.”  She grabbed at her skin and started ripping it off.  To any not used to the sight, it was disgusting.  Some would even think it was visions of horror movies coming to life, or someone going completely insane.  Even some used to the sight thought it was disgusting.  To Paige, living on a farm, and having husked her fair share of corn, her ability didn’t disgust her at all.  She had also come to grips with how to control her power, and as she ripped off her skin, as well as clothes, she revealed a body coated in smooth iron.

            She looked over at Yvette, and to Yvette’s credit, she wasn’t freaked out by this new form.  “Penance, wake Skitz, and get into the secret passages.  I’m going to check out what happened.”  She watched as the red head nodded, her blue eyes glowing as she turned back to the sleeping form.  If anyone knew how to move around the school undetected, it was Penance.

            Paige quickly, and quietly, left the lounge.  While the sound of the crash echoed through the building, there was only one room it could have come from.  Paige made her way towards the entry hall, trying to remain light footed.  That was tricky since the iron made a sound when touching the floors.  She needed to learn some better control over her powers.  There had to be a way to only change part of her body.

            As she reached the entry hall, she was shocked to see the front doors on the opposite wall.  Whoever this mystery attacker was, they had a good deal of power to do that.  Paige hoped her iron skin would protect her from whatever this threat could do.  She did keep her eye peeled for where the threat was.  While the doors had been knocked out of the door frame, there didn’t seem to be any sign that the attacker had entered the building.

            As she neared the door, however, she did notice something.  For the briefest of moments, it looked like that something humanoid shimmered like a heat haze.  It was enough to make her pause and try to focus on it.  It was then she realized her mistake, as at that moment, something hit her, sending her flying into the very wall the doors had apparently crashed against.  She fell to the floor, but quickly got back to her feet.

            As she did so, she saw the figure of a girl, most likely in her late teens, appear in the door way.  Like her, this girl had blonde hair, but that was the end of the similarities.  This girl wore a mix of casual clothes, and clothes that said ‘hooligan’.  She also had a bit of a sneer on her face.  Paige also noticed that the girl was relaxing her fist, but it didn’t fully explain how the girl hit her.  The girl, however, sounded a bit cocky as she said, “Wow, I was hoping for a challenge once I got here, not an iron doll wimp.”

            Paige quickly made two fists, determined not to be taken by surprise by this girl’s powers again.  “You just caught me off guard.  Ah’m not falling for that trick again.  And Ah’ll be more challenge than you can handle.”  She was upset now, and she was going to let loose on this intruder.  She doubted she would remain standing after getting hit by an iron coated fist.

            To her shock, she was struck in mid charge.  She had seen the girl kick, but thought it was odd since Paige wasn’t close to her.  The pain in her stomach told a different story.  Whatever this girl’s powers were, they allowed her to strike from a safe distance, and with great force.  This time when she hit the ground, she was winded from the attack.

            She glanced over at the girl and saw her approaching.  The girl had her one hand in a claw like fashion.  At the same time, Paige felt something around her waist.  It was starting to come together in her mind, as the girl said in a sarcastic tone, “Poor little hick girl.  That may have hurt, but it’s nothing compared to this, or what my dear cousin is going to get.”  Paige then felt a pain around her waist, as if something was trying to crush it.

            Paige could only scream in pain.  She wanted to say something, demand to know the attackers name, but she couldn’t get the words out.  As the pain started to cause her to black out, she could see the girl getting close to her, and as her vision and hearing started to fade, the attacker identified herself.  “Tell the others when they get back that I‘m Aura, and I‘m your worst nightmare.”  Paige slipped into unconsciousness then, hoping that Yvette and Richard had gotten into the secret passages.

 

            Richard awoke with Yvette shaking and screaming at him.  The scream had been both vocally and mentally and were filled with worry.  He quickly sat up, taking in the image of the lounge.  No one other than them were in the room, and instantly he started to worry.  His nightmare was starting to come true.

            He looked at Yvette, and for a moment she appeared to calm down, but not by much.  Her usually flowing red hair had taken on their spiky appearance from when her powers were active.  Her eyes were almost a pure blue, and her skin was just starting to take on the red color it had when her powers were fully active.  This prompted him to ask the questions he feared he already knew the answers to.  “Yvette, what’s wrong?  Where is everybody?”

            He saw Yvette glance over at the door as she answered.  “Everyone except Paige went to pick up the new student.  Paige had volunteered to stay with us.  She and I were talking, and then there was a crash, and she went to investigate.”

            Richard interrupted her after she said that, quickly getting off the couch and closing the door to the lounge.  The nightmare was coming true, and if it was who he thought it was, the door might offer them a momentary protection.  As he did all that, he said, “Damn it!  My nightmare is coming true.  Is there another way out of this room?”

            He felt Yvette take his hand, and pull him to one corner of the room, talking as she did so.  “That’s not the worst of it.  I think Paige is hurt.  I heard a scream echoing through the halls.  She did, however, tell me to wake you, and get into the secret passages of the school.”  That last bit caught him a little off guard.  While he was aware that the school was more than what it appeared to be on the surface, he had only known of one way to get down to those areas.

            He watched as Yvette pushed a recessed panel, and a hidden passage opened up.  He didn’t need any more prompting, and headed in.  Yvette followed him as the door closed behind her.  Once they were in, they remained quiet for a moment.  As they did, he tried to listen for any sounds nearby.  No doubt they would hear someone moving about if they got near their location.

            After a few tense moments, Richard took a moment to figure out what they needed to do, and mentally spoke to Yvette.   _“This isn’t good.  I have no doubt that Paige is out for the count right now.  We need to at least find her, and make sure she’s alright.”_  If he was right about their attacker, he knew she would need some help, and if she had used her powers, she might also need some cover.

            Following his lead on the matter, she also took to communicating in the mental link.  He could also tell she was worried, as she said, _“What makes you think Paige is out of commission?”_  He glanced at her, and noticed she was tensing up more, causing her ability to start cutting her clothing.

            He was about to answer her when a loud crash came from the room they had just left.  No doubt their attacker was in the room.  He motioned for them to head down the passageway, just as he heard a female voice yell.  “Where did you go, Richard?  I know you’re here.  You can’t always keep a low profile, especially with a girlfriend and your family background.”

            Inwardly, Richard shuddered.  He had been correct about who the attacker was.  If she were to find out about the secrets of the school as well, that would be a very bad thing.  Still, they needed to be more equipped to handle this situation and being in their regular clothes wouldn’t be enough.

            When they reached the level where their Generation X uniforms were, Richard had to get his bearings.  He had only just got his own uniform in the past week and hadn’t yet gotten used to the underground part of the school.  He also answered Yvette’s question, aloud.  “In the dream, someone had stayed here with us.  I don’t know what happened to them in the dream, but they were not able to help us.”

            He saw Yvette nod, and then felt her pull him in the right direction.  Luckily, he had tensed up his hand so she wouldn’t inadvertently wound him.  As they neared the lockers, she said, “So would I be correct in assuming that this is the girl you told me about, your other uncle’s daughter.”  It wasn’t a question.  He could tell that by her tone.

            Richard nodded, and said, “Yes.  Her name is Elane.  She might still my uncle’s family name of Bonstein, but she’s no blood relation.  What is worse is her power, which is total control of her aura.  She can use it in the same way Angelo can use his skin.  She can also manipulate it to do things, including act as a shield.”  He then wondered if she had any other tricks.  He had to admit that once he had a glimpse of her plans, he hadn‘t wanted to find out more.  In hindsight, that was a serious mistake to make.

            Once they were at the lockers, they quickly put on their uniforms.  Richard was thankful that the outfits were designed to work with their various abilities, but he often wondered how it would cope with his abilities.  He put that out of his mind, however, since he wasn‘t sure how long Paige would last in whatever state she was in.

            As he closed his locker, he heard Yvette ask him a very important question.  “Skitz, how in the world did she find out you were here?  Could she have found out from your family?”

            He shook his head as he saw Yvette in her uniform.  For a moment, he forgot about the danger they were in, and had to admire how she looked in the team uniform.  It literally enhanced her figure.  He then brought himself back to the moment and answered the question.  “No.  They all know what she sounds like.  I think we both know who was the one to inform her where I am.”

            In that moment, he saw Yvette instantly tense up, and her uniform reacted in kind.  The outfit turned black but held up to her abilities as her eyes went pure blue.  He also heard her respond to the statement in the mental link.   _“Emplate.  Well, we better make sure she fails.”_  He had to agree with that thought.

            He tried again to get his bearings, which was more difficult under the school.  There were no windows, so he had to rely on a mental map of the building they were in.  After a moment, he started to head in a direction, and to his relief, Yvette didn‘t stop him.  As he moved, he spoke to her in the mental link.  _“Alright Penance, our first goal is to get to Husk, and make sure she‘s either covered up, or better yet, brought to the med center.”_  With that, they rushed in what had to be the right direction to the entry hall of the building they had come from.

 

*******************************************

 

            Daria looked out at all the people in the airport as she made her way off the plane.  The world, in her mind, had changed so much in the past few weeks.  In all the chaos that happened when Zero Tolerance complete shutdown, she was still in shock when she had been singled out.  S.H.I.E.L.D. had come in and took various people away, but one person took her aside and explained things to her.

            It had turned out that she had been a mutant herself, and that Bastion had not only known it, but protected her.  It didn’t fully make sense to her, since he had often said that mutants were freaks.  Still, he had somehow cautioned her from going through the full procedure some of the other members of Zero Tolerance had gone through.  She had seen what had happened to them.  When Bastion had been out on a retrieval mission, suddenly many of the people collapsed, dead.  They had been the ones who had undergone the full procedure.  Had they known the truth about her, would they have targeted her?

            When she had found out about the fact that she was a mutant, she had also been handed a letter.  Apparently, during his last moments, Bastion had somehow managed to leave her guardianship to his nephew.  She had been given a photograph of the young man, and part of her had to admit that he looked like a nice young man, slightly older than her, possibly at the oldest being in his young twenties.  If she was to be in his care, would he feel alright with a mutant?

            Daria looked around the airport again.  She was starting to get nervous, since Bastion had shown her a video of an attack that had happened there.  In the video, a mutant named Jonothan Starsmore was being attacked by another mutant apparently called Emplate.  Would that being try to attack her now, and if so, what would happen to her?

            She was broken out of her worries when a voice called out to her.  “Daria?”  She looked in the direction of the voice and saw the source of that voice.  It was a girl, probably her age, and Asian in descent.  She had on a yellow raincoat and was apparently dressed for the time of year.  After a moment, she realized who the girl was.  The girl was known as Jubilation Lee, a mutant who had been part of the X-Men.  In fact, it had been her who Bastion had intended to retrieve.

            Daria then noticed some of the others in the group.  One was the mutant Jonothan Starsmore.  His face was half covered, but she knew from the video that she had seen that under that covering was the visible sign of his mutation; a flaming hole in his chest.  She then noticed the figure of Emma Frost, head of Frost Enterprises and a few others from Bastion’s files there.  This was not what she was expecting at all.

            She tentatively walked over to the group.  As she did, she looked over the group, and didn’t see the person who was her guardian.  She did recall that her guardian was apparently at a school.  Was it a school for mutants?  It would make sense, especially with both Jubilation Lee and Jonothan Starsmore there.  Still, she would have preferred to see her guardian there.  As she approached, she asked, “Hello.  Are you all from the school?  Where is Richard at?  I was told he was my guardian.”

            A man with orangish hair, a goatee, and decked out in a Celtic’s jacket answered the question.  “Yes, we are from the school.  Richard, however, was unable to join us here, and is back at the school with two other students.  Unfortunately, due to the reasons it would take too long to explain standing around, we need to get back to the school.”

            She was a little confused by this but started walking with the group as they headed out of the airport.  As they approached the van, she decided to inquire about her guardian.   “Is something wrong with him that he couldn’t make it to the airport today?”

            It was Emma Frost who answered the question, and the response made her worry.  “It is something a little odd about Richard.  Aside from his power, he seems to have prophetic dreams from time to time.  He had one just last night, and it is possible that it may come true if we don’t get back in time.”  Something about the way Emma Frost said that told Daria that it wouldn’t be a good thing.

            Her mind raced, and she recalled about the video she saw.  Instantly, she blurted out the question that came to her mind.  “Is it Emplate that might be attacking?”  She noticed that everyone was looking at her.

            It was the girl of African descent who just narrowed her eyes, and coldly asked, “And just how do you know about Emplate?”  She had a feeling that she might have just made an enemy at the school, and possibly of all the school.

            She decided that there was no use lying, since they might already know her background.  She closed her eyes and lowered her head as she answered the accusatory question.  “A tape from the security cameras here had made their way to Zero Tolerance.  Bastion had shown it a few times, I’m guessing as part of his justification.  To be honest, he wasn’t entirely sure what Emplate was, but he grouped it in with other mutants.”  She heard a huff of disgust.

            After a moment, she heard the Asian girl from earlier speak.  “You have to forgive Monet.  She can be a bit touchy about family.”  This statement made her look up, and even raised some questions in her mind.

            It had obviously caught the attention of the African girl, as she was now looking at Jubilation, and said, “Jubilee, I don’t think that this is the time or the place that that particular topic should be discussed.”

            Daria found that statement to be wrong on a key level.  She looked over at Monet, as she figured that was the girl’s name, and said, “If we are going to be possibly facing off against this Emplate, wouldn’t it be wiser to inform the newest person to join your ranks instead of leaving them in the dark of a potential threat.  I understand that I was part of a group that might have not given a second thought about killing you all, but I’ve been going through a lot in the past few weeks.  I want to know what I might be going up against, especially if I’m going to survive as a mutant.”

            To her surprise, it was the man with goatee who had responded.  “Lass, I think it is safe to say we all have our fault and flaws.  Not all of us have walked the paths of angels, and we all have our crosses to bare.  You aren’t asking for anything ye don’t deserve, so we will give you the basics as we drive back.”

            She nodded, thankful not only for the support, but the words he used.  They actually made her feel a bit more comfortable, especially as everyone else seemed to nod their heads in agreement.  She then let a small smile show.  “Thank you for those words, Mr.”  She paused, realizing that she didn’t know who he was.

            Thankfully, he responded in an understanding tone.  “Cassidy, Sean Cassidy.  If ye wish, ye can all me Sean.  I try to be a bit less formal than Emma.  We will also introduce ourselves to ye on the way to the school.  I wouldn’t be surprised, though, if you know a bit about a few of us.”  He had a slightly mischievous tone in his voice when he said that last part, as if he was just trying to lighten the mood.  Daria just hoped it had been interpreted by the students in that way.  She also hoped the trip wouldn’t be a long one.

 

*******************************************

 

            Richard and Yvette had spent the better part of an hour maneuvering through the secret passages, trying to avoid his former cousin.  Every time they opened a door, they listened for a few moments.  Each time, they heard her nearby, making him think that she somehow heard the opening of the secret doors.  Luckily, Richard had been able to get his bearings each time, and they quickly made their way to the entry hall.  What they found when they finally got there was enough to make them gasp.

            The entry hall was a mess.  The front door had been broken off its frame and smashed into the opposite wall.  Laying amongst the remains of the door was Paige.  From a glance, it could be seen that her waist had been constricted, most likely while she was using her powers.  She didn’t seem to stir, and her powers had worn off.  The room was also chilled due to the cold air coming in from the entryway.

            Richard was horrified by the sight, and felt his own protective nature kicking in.  He rushed out of the passage, listening for any sounds of movement.  Thankfully, he didn’t hear any, except from Yvette as she followed him.  His first move was to get one of the curtains down.  As he did that, he heard Yvette in their mental link saying. _“You were right.  Husk isn’t in good shape.”_

            Once the curtains were down, he led the way over to Paige.  _“I know.  I just hope she’s still breathing.”_   As they got near her, he could see that she was.  He breathed a quiet sigh of relief.  _“Come on, let’s first cover her up.  That cold air might not be good for her.”_   With Yvette’s help, he got the curtain over her, as well as tucked around her.  He also figured that Paige would prefer not being naked when the new student arrived.  Richard knew he would feel embarrassed if he were found naked.

            Once they were done, he heard Yvette in the mind link again.  _“Judging by what appeared to happen to Husk, I have a feeling that your cousin doesn’t plan on being stopped.  Do you think the others can handle her?”_   It was a good question.  He hadn’t thought about what tricks she might have picked up over the years.  Even he couldn’t figure how she could use her abilities on multiple people.

            He looked around for a moment, trying to see if she was coming before he responded.  _"I would like to think so.  I don't think her powers could be overly effective on some of their powers.  Still, it might be best if we get back to the underground part of the school."_  He looked around the room again, trying to keep an eye out in case she arrived.

            As he did so, he heard Yvette say in the mental link, _“We can keep one step ahead of her.”_   He looked over at her and saw her shudder a little.  _“Sorry, I just had a thought of what she might do to us if she does catch us.  She did do a number on Husk.”_

            He nodded, and then looked back in the direction the secret passage was in.  Something looked odd in that direction, and he wasn’t sure what.  Regardless, it would be best to get back into the secret parts of the school.  Still, something seemed off, and he said to Yvette, _“Penance, does something look off to you?”_

            He saw her pause next to him, and nod.  _“Yes.  It looks like part of the wall doesn’t look right, Skitz.”_   In that moment, it happened.  He saw a figure appear out of thin air.  It was something that cause both him and Yvette to step back.  As they did so, he heard Yvette say, _“I’m going to guess that’s our attacker.”_

            He would have confirmed it himself, but the attacker spoke, removing any doubt about her identity.  “Well, well, well.  You two managed to keep me running.”  She started to advance, and he and Yvette started to back up.  “Foolish move coming back to help the hick.  I figured you’d come here eventually.  You did have me going for a bit, but it’s over now.  Time for you, and that girl with you to suffer as well.”

            Richard saw her start to make a grabbing motion, and he glanced at a hallway right near them.  _“The hallway to our right.  Now.”_   Once he said those words to Yvette, she nodded, and they ran for the hall.

            They had managed to avoid what ever she was about to do, since she screamed in frustration.  They weren’t in the clear, though.  He could hear her giving pursuit.  As they ran, he heard Yvette say in their mental link, _“If we can make it to the lounge, we can get back in the secret passages.  It is just up ahead.”_   He nodded and hoped they could pull it off.  It would just mean keeping out of their attacker’s line of sight.

            Those hopes got dashed when he felt himself getting lifted into the air.  He also had felt his arms go flat to his sides as well. It told him that they hadn’t run fast enough.  They had been caught by his former cousin.  He saw that Yvette was struggling as well while hanging in mid-air.

            He then felt as they were being turned to face their captor.  Sure enough, she had a gloating smile on her face, and he could feel her tightening her grip.  As she moved towards them, keeping them stationary in the air, he heard her gloat.  “You know, I had always wondered how you had found out about my ability.  I never knew that you had that kind of mutant ability.  I always thought you had read my mind.”  He felt her tighten her proverbial grip more as she said, “Now I know the truth.”

            Richard gasped for air and tried not to cry out in pain.  It was starting to get hard to focus, but he could see that Yvette looked like she was in emotional pain.  He then looked at his attacker and managed to vocally ask the one question on his mind, one he figured he had an answer to already.  “How did you find me here, Elane?  I know you couldn’t get it from my family.”

            The pressure didn’t let up, and he could tell he was starting to lose consciousness.  As everything started to go black, he saw an evil grin on Elane’s face as she answered his question with what he had figured was a lie.  “I had hacked into Ms. Frost’s computers.  Thought I’d try to take over one of the big companies in the world, and found out about the school, and that you were here.”  He had a feeling she would lie, since he already suspected who was helping her.  Still, he couldn’t relay that information, since he was blacking out due to the pressure crushing him.

 

            Yvette gasped for breath and was horrified that Richard had passed out.  He had been the one who helped make her who she is now.  He had helped her control her powers and communicate with the others.  Now, he was hanging in the air, unconscious. She could tell he wasn’t dead but depending on what this woman he named Elane might have in mind, he might wish to be.

            She turned her head to face the woman and held her powers in check.  It took a lot of effort to calm herself down so that she could talk.  She was sure her eyes were still glowing blue, and her skin still had the red hue showing her powers were active.  She couldn’t use them to hurt this woman, so she had to try and delay her by talking.  “Why are you doing this?  Do you have any idea what this place is?”

            She had a feeling the attacker knew full well what the place was.  Something told her that while the hacking story was a lie, this Elane woman knew a lot more than she was willing to share.  Besides, if she wanted harm to come to Richard, she had to be to have called in some help, since Richard never seemed to like the idea of hurting people, with the only exception having been Black Tom Cassidy.

            She then felt herself being drawn to the woman.  She couldn’t move her arms, since they were pinned to her side, but she was kept a safe distance away as the woman answered.  “He ruined my plans.  I was working on a plan to take over the world, by first taking over one of the most powerful companies in the world.  I would strike fear into them.  They couldn’t get near enough to me, and I can become invisible.  They would always be second guessing if I’m around or not.”  Yvette heard a glee in the voice of the woman at the time.

            She was then brought closer to Elane and saw the absolutely wicked smile on her face. “I could even force you to kill him if I wanted to.”  Yvette shuddered, especially as she saw a gleam of joy in the woman’s eyes.  Yvette even began to think that what she said about hacking into Miss Frost’s records might be true, and not a lie.  She hadn’t been sure, but something didn’t seem right.

            She then felt the pressure on her increase, and things were starting to seem hazy.  Yvette tried to look her captor in the eyes, but when she did, she saw something else in them.  It was a look of malice she had seen from only one other being.  Emplate.  She had no doubt in her mind now who was helping Elane.  She still struggled for breath, and tried to hang on, yet hoping she would be right about her next statement.  “You won’t succeed in this. Our friends will stop you.”

            To her horror, as her vision started to fade, and she started to drift into unconsciousness, Elane said, “Once you’re out, we are out of here.  Odds are we will be long gone by the time your friends get here.”  Those were the last words she heard, but as she fully lost consciousness, Yvette could have sworn she heard a very high-pitched sound, one she could have sworn she heard before.  She just wished she could recall what it was.


End file.
